I’m sorry about being so emotional these last few days. I made an effort to compose myself before writing this. Hopefully I can be a little more… historical. Maybe being historical will make it easier.

Today we drove most of the day, all the way into Phoenix. Not much to say about it. Nothing on the radio besides the number station. Joseph didn’t get around to breaking it, though he said he’d “work on it when he got the chance.” Must’ve heard that damn thing a thousand times, and what it said was:

We stopped in the evening for the cows this time, so Sky could do her thing with the animals. I helped with the milking, though only two of the cows needed it. These animals might’ve been dairy cows before, but we’re not forcing them to stay artificially pregnant or prolong their nursing anymore. The extra milk of just a few cows is more than we can use as it is. Not many eggs from the chickens along the drive, but that’s okay. We’re not really in the mood to cook them anyway.

That done, we all got together for a meeting. The smoke of the fires are finally gone, and we need to decide where to go. We were going to wait a year, build up supplies for a proper relocation, and only then migrate out. Now though, with our city gone and no guarantee this might not happen to many others along the way, we’ve been forced to move ahead of schedule. We thought “while we’re at it, why not start the relocation now?” We could find a small, empty town and make it our own. We have a whole country to pick from, with population densities apparently so light we might never meet another soul along the way.

Joseph and Moriah thought to bring the guns and stuff in addition to the computers. Can’t say I’m not glad, with the prospect of a whole country to cross. After much consideration, we decided on the midwest as the site of our future colony. Joseph already had maps of the best farmland in the country, the safest and most stable places for us to build in. We were far from the coasts and their storms. Too far north for the worst tornadoes but not far enough for the worst winters.

As it stands, we have two possible locations in mind, both with their own advantages. One, about as small a town as we were comfortable with, is Paris, Illinois. Former population of just a few thousand, located in excellent farmland and within easy travel distance to Chicago, Indianapolis, and St. Louis.

The other was Jefferson City, Missouri. This was more like a very small city, with a much larger infrastructure, though it was centrally located only between St Louis and Kansas City. We haven’t really decided, though some of that decision might come down to what we can learn when we actually get there.

Right now Paris is the stronger option. Its infrastructure is so small and self-contained that it might actually be feasible to restart if the population grew into the low thousands. Unless the water’s all drained out by now, the gravity-fed system of water towers might still be running even now. If it is, there are several even smaller towns nearby we could probably use. Not to mention that a great deal of the people up there are farmers, so they have all the right machines just sitting there for us.

Even if, by our estimations, we’re likely to have stored food for fifty years at least, with a group this small.

Jefferson City is bigger, so figuring out how to seal off the gas and get the electricity flowing again would be much trickier. It could probably still be done. The city has some advantages over using a small town. Large public buildings there will probably last longer, not to mention it’s got a university and lots of other public resources a tiny town just can’t offer.

We’ll decide when we get there. Actually, we probably won’t have to decide for several days. We’re taking it fairly slow down the highway, and even though we haven’t encountered anything so far, we might. Fairly flat going, which makes it easier on our novice drivers.

We won’t really be stopping to try and recruit anyone in the cities we visit. We’ve changed our minds about that; when we’re already destabilized from losing our home, we really don’t want to try and expand the group. If somebody finds us, great, but we won’t be going out of our way to make it happen. Still, we’re a pretty big convoy to be driving through the country, so it’s not impossible we’ll run into some ponies along the way. We may switch out the cargo truck for another RV, and just use one of the rooms for storage. Most of this one is empty space and animal feed as it is. Wonder how much space we could save if all of us just ate that too. Then we could have a stallion RV and a mare RV. That’d be great.

Oliver told me matter of factly that Joseph and Moriah are definitely together, with a level of medical detachment I found almost disgusting. He didn’t check for other listeners though, and I know Sky heard. Know, because she was teary-eyed the rest of the night. I kept her company, pretended I didn’t notice, and shared some chocolate we’d found that day with her. It seemed to make her feel better. Huan didn’t even try to eat the chocolate.

Guess it’s good to have a friend. The fires might’ve taken everything else away, but at least I didn’t lose all my friends. Guess Sky and I in particular have gotten pretty close. Even if I’ve long since given up the idea that she might have feelings for me… this is good too. I can almost pretend, alone as much as we have been. It’s a pity the survival of our new species is at risk. Pity I’m such an inferior specimen.

Also a pity I’m still so small, maybe young too. I wake up in the morning and Sky is holding me like a doll. Well, I may not be that small, but… I’m used to being bigger. Maybe not bigger than her. Maybe I haven’t been bigger than any pony since the Event. Whatever. You know what I mean. Maybe you don’t. Maybe Moriah doesn’t. God knows I’m not… couldn’t imagine… wonder if it’s the stress. I’d be pretty stressed. I am stressed.

You don’t see me sneaking off and crawling into bed with- Okay, maybe I do crawl into bed with someone every night, but this is totally different! We’re not doing anything! She’s with the cows right now, or else I wouldn’t be able to… Yeah, I should just shut up now. Tomorrow begins our great journey. Journey to a new home. Hopefully one that’s safer than the old one.

—A

July 31, 2015

Dear Journal,

Change of plans. Joseph translated the message last night. The others didn’t want it to change anything, but it does. The force that came looking for us still is. The message didn’t say if it caused the fire, but that doesn’t matter.

Not only does the HPI need us to make contact with it, but I need to for my own sanity. That person, that being, that pony, whatever they are, might be the only chance we have of ever learning what really happened. Going back to investigate might be dangerous and foolish, but it’s also the only way I’m going to be able to sleep at night.

We talked for some time, our trucks all spread out around this big park. The others seemed pretty convinced whatever was back there was the reason the fire had started, and that going back was insane.

Maybe that’s true. I told them I was going back, and that was that. I was the best driver of the group, I could probably make it back there in a single day. And I would turn around if I ran into the fire or there was even a slight sign that something was up.

Needless to say, none of my friends thought that was a good idea. Cloudy Skies was most against the idea, though she didn’t say much. I just knew from looking at her. Oliver didn’t like it either. He tried to make all kinds of arguments about how important I was.

But I’m not important. I’m replaceable. Sorry Oliver, sorry Sky. Maybe if I don’t come back, you two can have each other instead. At least then some ponies will be happy.

Phoenix has all kinds of resources. Huan and I found a police car, and I did the things I do to cars. I’ve done so many conversions now it’s becoming rote. I bet if I opened up an auto shop in the post-Event world, that would be most of what my shop did.

Picked a PHXPD cruiser in this case, stuffed supplies (mostly water) in the back seat, along with some camping stuff in case things went south. Gun, bullets, and my buddy on the passenger seat.

I’ve got a satellite phone too, so hopefully I’ll be able to tell the others even if it’s clear I won’t be able to escape alive. I have no reason to think I won’t make it out alive.

Against my better judgment I’ve decided to take my journal with me. I take it with me in the hope of being able to write down the truth when I learn it. In the end, the others decided to stay in Phoenix a few more days. I told them, if I stay out of contact for three days, to turn around and keep going. I could always check Paris and Jefferson City on my own, if I somehow survive.

“Somehow survive”. Like I’m going to be outraced by a fire when I’m on the highway and can see the smoke for hundreds of miles. Or like I’m running into a source of “thaumic radiation” bright enough that the Initiative can see it from space. Nothing could possibly be dangerous in there.

Most of my journal should be fine if I don’t make it back. All the digital files I printed to glue in are all on my laptop. Even though, I guess I don’t really need to do that anymore. I can write pretty well with my mouth.

I drove halfway back, sleeping in a gas station in this little town called Blythe. Tomorrow I’ll drive the rest of the way in, and hopefully find the mysterious entity who knows what’s going on will be waiting there for me and be in a talking mood.

Turns out I’m coming back, city of angels. I hope you have a little love left for me.

Alex's lack of self-awareness and self-esteem continues to be staggering. On the one hand, it allows for the struck-through Freudian slips that give us hints of insight behind the facade. On the other, it means he can do something like convert a car to pony compatibility by rote and call himself not important in virtually the same breath.

Well, come what may, there will likely be answers soon. That or a tragedy and a leadership crisis, since the other members of the little herd couldn't find their tails with all four hooves when it comes to practical matters.

Between those two options, I think I like the Paris, Illinois idea better. If they get enough population to actually require the resources of a larger town, they'll probably also be in good enough shape to not need it as much. With a probable third of the population showing up as earth ponies, I'd be surprised if food is ever a problem once the settlement gets going, even more so if the pegasi can get off the ground and start working up some weather control.

Oliver told me matter of factly that Joseph and Moriah are definitely together, with a level of medical detachment I found almost disgusting.

Unicorn master race, it's never too early to start keeping the bloodlines pure.

Oooo, so back to LA for that second first contact event? I'm guessing (or possibly hoping) explorer from Equestria, Discord or Twilight, maybe, sent to try and figure out what happened and if help is needed.

6153306 They couldnt find their way out of a wet paper bag with glaring neon exit markers. Sky might have some viewpoints, but its showcasing both unicorns as true idiots here. Dumb and dumber movie level idiots. But honestly, yeah, should have left them after they loaded up everything and let them actually try to fend for themselves.

The pony is an alicorn, perhaps even one we'd recognizance, except they didn't know about the effects of magic on humans. The reason 'we' got those three years being his/her approach somehow being spotted/detected.

And what should have been first-contact instead turned into planet-wide accidental xenocide.

New York is like the most populated city in USA, over 8 Million people at that.

You could most likely find more ponies there than anywhere else. I dunno about how many ponies in LA area, but New York would most likely double it's size.

North-Eastern United States have a lot of large cities in such a short distance compared to the West, so you would most likely find literally hundreds to thousands of ponies bunched together in various groups/factions.

6153934I wonder if this is an error in your decoding or my translation program (I did write it in like twenty minutes, so I wouldn't be surprised). The correct translation should be "escaped fire." I'll have to check on that at some point. Probably won't post my program, though. It's embarrassingly simple. Just a single interger-character hashmap.

I'm definitely eager for the next chapter. Who or what is that huge magical something and what information, if any, can they offer about the event. I know we only have to wait one day but Celestia dammit, I can't wait!!!!!!!!!

Looking at my previous ciphers, we've learned a lot about the code since then. Read the previous ciphers with a grain of salt, since some may have mistakes / errors.

The first cipher (pigpen circle) may in fact say "BEYOND SPACETIME |EVEFREE"

I am almost certain the word "spacetime" is there, and based on the pattern of codes we've broken since then, this would suggest the entity approaching is equestrian in origin.

CIPHER KEY:o??ay_|bcefghijfrmnpqstuvd forJJFHJEASZFVTDIJWNRJGFJYJPQ

This would also match, since what Alex saw when she touched the rune(?) was apparently very close to Ponyville (assumed). At the time in which the rune appeared, it is likely when the Equestrians were still "gearing up" or preparing to portal through to the human world.

This would also heavily suggest that HPI is aware of our equestrian natives, and are attempting to facilitate a meeting. Perhaps they were working on inter-dimensional communication technology before someone made a mistake?

I dunno here, given that well, he's been very neutral in a bad way to things. Doubly so to whammy the together line. I think he can rot there. I get that he's detaching himself. But even this is cold blooded. Sky and Alex were fine without the trio, really. All they did was save some time, nothing super important. When you consider all the troubles they brought with them.

6154173 Im very well aware of what this can be like. I deal with aspergers folks everyday. My senior thesis, and years after into the study of the way it shapes, molds, and collectively adjusts the very nature of what makes them, them. (From about age 14-26. im 32 now.) They can adjust a lot more than many folks see. Especially once you get into seeing their edge's or foci's range. I can speak for quite a while, both on their physical adjustments, and the way the condition wires them differently. There's tons of aspects that make no two cases the same.

The problem is often, that many folks of intelligence can come across this way, but use their intelligence to cut at other folks. Joseph here struck me as this from day one of his introduction. Many aspergers folks, are capable of real empathy being wired in a very defensive way. Given how hostile, and aggressive he is. I don't view him as anything but an 'elitist' and his actions here support it. Joseph isnt aspergers syndrome. Just a jerk. It's his aggressive nature that is the biggest reason why, aspergers wires a person to be defensive. Unlike the typical nature of humanities hunting nature.

If i wanted to poke parallel here, he is like a blueblood of skill, not of lineage. The destination is the same, just the route differs. Given the pilot, and actions again, and how they are so willing to leach here. Survival is a team effort. And really, are those two, bringing anything useful post event to the collective to warrant their ego's? No. Not in the least.

But sadly, due to the nature of insecurities here, and how the self esteem issues on alex. Its going to be that they are going to latch on and drown the one to get what they want. Since its pretty apparent that both only see the poor 'kid' as the real worker of them all.

Awkward? Yes. Malicious? No. If anything Joseph has been very helpful to Alex.

I'm not quite sure what point you're trying to make? I'm not diagnosing Joseph with Aspergers (after all, he's a fictional character), but I do think his behavior indicates Asperger-like tendencies. Coupled with my experience in reality, this seems compatible with similar individuals in real life.

And the implied nature that he might have either the ASD tendencies, or be that way. I just wished to point out that he is has enough going against what someone with an ASD mentality would aim for more than likely as someone that has dealt with many kids, adults, and teenagers that have been properly diagnosed for a large chunk of his life. Nothing more.

I realize you've basically got the story written, but this would be my end-of-the-world sanctuary:i.imgur.com/9I2mh5l.jpgThat's a 4-bedroom house and a barn set up for animals (3 horses, 4 cows, and an unspecified number of cats) on the left, with a 6-bedroom house (my parents' house) and a barn set up for equipment on the right. The larger of the two includes an outdoor kitchen with a wood-fired oven (and smoker, though that's less likely to be useful for herbivores). There's even a log-splitter in the garage.

The Google maps image above is from when the area was still in drought, it's much greener now, and the two ponds (no fish) are full. Over 40 acres of space, and less than half a mile from the highest elevation in the county.

Much further south than the characters are considering (unincorporated Colin County near Celina, Texas) and obviously doesn't already have solar paneling installed, but the windows are double-pane with argon insulation and the ac/heating is geothermal, so requires minimal energy consumption.

The area does have some wildlife such as coyotes, though. They get really confused on the few occasions that it snows (like back in 2010, when there was a record-breaking 12.5 inches):i.imgur.com/2FZ7D51.jpg

While in high school, I once visited the "Texas Wildlife Petting Zoo" section of the Ft Worth Zoo. Every single creature there (plus a few that weren't there) was a species that I had either turned into road kill on the way to/from my parents', or very nearly had.

"It had to be me. Someone else may have got it wrong."-- Professor Mordin Solis-- Mass Effect 3

Something tells me that this is the moment where Alex is going to go to confront his destiny. That power, whatever it is, has the answers; I'm certain of that.

I'm satisfied in my own mind that there is a subconscious suicidal impulse in Alex's decision but, I suspect, that confronting this self-defined Thanatos, he'll be able to escape his own sense of guilt and worthlessness. If he learns what's really happening, it might let him move on. Worst comes to the worst, I think that it's Alex's plan that he'll take the monster with him.

CONTROL - SYNTHESIS - DESTROY

Either option will work.

Oh, and congratulations to Joseph and Moriah. Okay, they're an odd pair but, in the end, what pair isn't a little odd in its own way?

Hah, I don't think they use blimps. Granted, they have advantages. I guess they don't take much energy to stay in the air, but... probably still wouldn't. I can't imagine a hydrogen blimp in particular would do well vs a dragon.

6151958Houses made of stone and iron? Los Angeles suburban homes aren't made of either of those things. We still use wood frame houses like most of the modern world, with huge planters and trees that have had three months to dry out completely before the fire arrived (except for the group's mansion, which obviously stayed green). Just zoom in on google maps yo' if you don't believe me.

6152251And the question also of whether or not a space station is far enough away to be outside the range of whatever transformed/took the humans of earth. If it is, the whole crew would still be in there, and if they returned, they would all die as soon as they landed. If they weren't out of range, then it might be ponies up there. Good luck controlling a space station with hooves.

6152921That's the only positive from that fire stuff. At least nopony died. Not even the animals. As much as it sucked to lose their home, it isn't like they can't rebuild. Assuming they can keep the group intact long enough to rebuild...

May I ask if there's an actual end planned? Or are you rather going down to "Let's see where this is heading!"?

I'm not really a fan of the "stories that go on forever until they run out of steam" approach. I've had an end in mind for some time, though I didn't know how long it would take to reach it. That's usually how I do most stories, though. Plan out the major milestones but not as much detail for what connects them, I let that develop as I write. We have less than a full week of entries before the story is complete.

6153217Guess you'd call that a little bit of an oversight, not to prepare the exact meaning. Good thing that your fellow readers worked it out a long time ago, I guess.

6153306Struggling with self-esteem is a fairly common problem for many people. Particularly in Alex's situation, with all the hormones of the sweet sixteens in addition to the stress of everything going on all around. I think I'd be proud if I could be so rational under the circumstances. At least when it really mattered (like during the fire), Alex can still get things done.

6153372You'll know tomorrow! I imagine the comments here are going to explode. Carnivores and herbivores, living together... and I'll be waiting in line for Anime Expo Pre-registration, so I won't get to see any of it until evening! X.x

6153592And polarizing. I predict some love, some hate, maybe a few more downvotes... we'll see, I guess. No more just survival though, that's for sure.

6153714Well, we won't have to wait long to see if that theory is true, at least. The time for mystery in this story is just about over.

6153736Those would all be good places to look for more people. I don't think that's actually what they're trying to do first, though. It seems like their first goal is just to find somewhere safe to live, somewhere that will work well long-term. After that, they can send out scouts and try to find people out of the various cities and towns, maybe ones who haven't done as much to try and survive or are looking for somewhere stable to live.

Unfortunately not. I'm seeing a pattern here, but... I don't know anything about any of these places.

6154533Zutcha's really good at capturing the emotion for these drawings. Particularly when I give him little (or no) direction for them. In some respects, I suppose that makes him kinda like a second author. The drawings tell their own story supplementary to the real one.

6154776Yeah, they've been translated in the comments. I don't think Alex is going to mention them specifically.

6155072That seems like a perfect place for them to go. I think they're avoiding that far south because of the water... they want somewhere where they wouldn't need much irrigation to get crops growing, I think. Somewhere with regular rainfall.

And that's the pony that the HPI just happened to run into while taking a convoy over to cross the Pacific

I don't think they were crossing the pacific. They were moving down the west coast harvesting nuclear fuel (spent and enriched) from the various plants. He even says later that they encountered the party's base by accident during the Diablo Canyon mission (the name of the nuclear plant fairly close to LA). It wasn't really an accident when they spent day setting up huge cinematic spotlights that kept on at night though, attracting attention from hundreds of miles around. The characters went out of their way to be noticed!

that they just happened to decide to risk approaching despite having lost their precious 500 to ponies attacking the evil bad things earlier.

He's not very specific, but he didn't lose the five hundred in whatever bunker, either. It sounds like he lost a squad maybe, during a previous mission. Not all of them. Also, the HPI doesn't approach the ponies until after talking with them over the satellite radio, and learning that they're intelligent. During the actual meeting, we see he's got several layers of shield protecting his men, and two snipers high above. If Alex had tried anything, there'd have been a dead pony in that stadium without any real danger to the HPI.

They could have been anywhere in the entire world with their portable reactors, and they just so happen to be passing right by a pony survivor with low magic and a human obsession, driving a mac truck.

It wasn't hapenstance they had the portable reactor with them, either. The meeting was set over a week in advance, and they'd been told the exact location so they could prepare it with all the shields they need. It isn't like Alex just wandered into the stadium; Cloudy Skies chose it during the week Alex was gone, as well as the date. They agreed on everything via the satellite-phone in previous chapters.

I also think her pony name is kind of unfair.

It's prophetic, I think. We just don't know how.

6155521They've been playing for awhile. I think Alex just lets Cloudy Skies win, so that sort of conflict doesn't happen. Otherwise...

6155581SYNTHESIS. Absolutely Synthesis. How the heck could Alex let all those synthetic allies just get freakin' killed? Alex is way too humble to try and control... but self sacrifice? That sounds perfect for Lonely Day,

I have to say, figuring this code out sort of lessens the mystery a bit. Not in a bad way, necessarily, but it's strange to know that someone will have posted a translation of any number code within a few minutes of the chapter being posted. I personally have a VBA module that I can just enter the numbers and the key into and it will spit out the message.

Still, figuring it out was fun, and that alone is worth the price of admission (which is free).

6155587 I hope they aren't in the zone of The Event.In my opinion,death from fire and warm while reentering atmosphere inside space station is,in my opinion,better than death from starvation.So if crew are still humans,I think they will stand no longer than half of a year,or,probably,three or two moths,possibly one.Somewhen here they must understand what "rescue will never come" and decide to scuttle the station (if station controls from inside) or commit suicide.And there is a little story-phrase I never heard in English which could describe this situation.Translation is:"Traveller still sended signals.Earth - no"

.... ARGH is Alex a mare or a stallion? Sometimes s/he seems to like Cloudy Skies and sometimes s/he seems to have a small crush on Oliver! Does Sky not notice Alex's feeling because Sky is straight (as her letter to Joe heavily implies) and Alex is a mare, or is she just really friendzoning him?

On another hoof, while Oliver might think that Joe and Moria are together, does he really have any proof?

Kinda funny everyone else wants to know about where they are going to settle and the big mystery behind them, and I just want to figure out the character interactions. Because I SHIP EVERYPONY!

So... lots of romantic drama and all... and more ambiguity in whenever Alex is a guy or girl, I myself don't really care either way... other than the idea of a her being a girl is something appealing, but otherwise not that invested in it.

So Cloudy... going to tell us why you like Mr Unicorn?So Joe... going to tell us how you fell in love with Moriah?No? Alright then.

So Cloudy... going to tell us why you like Mr Unicorn?So Joe... going to tell us how you fell in love with Moriah?

Well, they'd have to tell all the details to our unreliable narrator who doesn't seem interested in them (or even slightly annoyed judging by earlier entries). Then, if Alex is interested, it doesn't have to make it into the journal because it isn't important enough to her/him to warrant more than a small notice. And in that new younger body it's probably way too much to handle right now anyway Apart from that, there's that little detail of an upcoming suicide mission :)